The growth of the U.S. Hispanic population and its purchasing power over the past twenty years has prompted marketers to look for better and more efficient methods of effectively targeting messages to this important consumer segment. This study focused on the historically dominant mass-reach medium of television and explored acculturation effects on attitude toward television ad language among Hispanic audiences of Mexican descent.

In this study, we examined the relationship between linguistic acculturation and Hispanic audiences’ attitudes toward ad languages in television commercials. Ethnic identity and gender were used as moderating variables. The study used a survey method to collect empirical data from 312 college students in a large Hispanic-serving public university in the Southwest. Hierarchical regression results confirmed that, while linguistic acculturation is a strong and positive predictor of Hispanics’ attitude toward Spanish language in television commercials, media content and public language use negatively predict their attitude toward Spanish language in television commercials. Unexpectedly, gender and ethnic identity did not moderate the relationships. Discussion of findings and the study’s limitations are presented and the implications for future research are outlined.

Publication Type: Conference Paper/Unpublished ManuscriptReview Method: Peer ReviewedAbstract: The growth of the U.S. Hispanic population and its purchasing power over the past twenty years has prompted marketers to look for better and more efficient methods of effectively targeting messages to this important consumer segment. This study focused on the historically dominant mass-reach medium of television and explored acculturation effects on attitude toward television ad language among Hispanic audiences of Mexican descent.

In this study, we examined the relationship between linguistic acculturation and Hispanic audiences’ attitudes toward ad languages in television commercials. Ethnic identity and gender were used as moderating variables. The study used a survey method to collect empirical data from 312 college students in a large Hispanic-serving public university in the Southwest. Hierarchical regression results confirmed that, while linguistic acculturation is a strong and positive predictor of Hispanics’ attitude toward Spanish language in television commercials, media content and public language use negatively predict their attitude toward Spanish language in television commercials. Unexpectedly, gender and ethnic identity did not moderate the relationships. Discussion of findings and the study’s limitations are presented and the implications for future research are outlined.